A survey was made of the flowering responses of 47 annual, biennial and perennial grasses, to measure the extent of any winter requirement for floral induction, and to see how far this could be provided by controlled cold or short‐day treatment.The annual species showed little or no inductive requirement, nor did the perennialsArrheuatherum elatius, Ceratochloa unioloides, Phleum pratenseandPoa nemoralis. Most perennials possessed a definite inductive requircinent. A few species, such asLolium perenne, responded to both cold and short‐day given to the young seedling, while others, such asPhleum nodosum, Agrostis alba, A. canina, A. stoloniferaandA. tenuis, responded to short‐day induction but not to cold.Many temperate perennials, however, includingCynosurus cn'status, Dactylis glomerata, Festuca pratensis, F. rubra, Poa pratensisandP. trivialisdid not respond to seedling induction and possibly have a juvenile stage before they are able to respond to inductive conditions.The sequence of flowering responses in the temperate perennial grasses is evidently more complex than was previously thought, and the perennial habit can be achieved by many different developmental pat